Breath Test for Stomach Cancer

By : The Scientist

A new method for diagnosing gastric cancer via breath samples can help distinguish between cancer and other gastric ailments such as ulcers as much as 90 percent of the time, according to BBC News. The 130-person study was published this week (March 5) in the British Journal of Cancer.

In the United Kingdom, about 7,000 people develop stomach cancer each year, with only a fifth of patients surviving 5 years post-treatment. This high mortality rate stems, in part, from the fact that most cancers diagnosed via biopsy probe threaded through the mouth in late stages of the disease, but the new technique stands to change that.